This Was the Compromise
by Hostfanatic
Summary: Sequel to Having Only Hopes for Tomorrow. Celeste is now sixteen, and life in the caves seems almost perfect to her. But her troubles aren't over yet. The humans from the other settlement are getting angry again. A widespread plague is sweeping through the caves, and less and less humans are waking up after the souls are removed. And she now faces the biggest problem of all: BOYS.
1. Chapter 1

**Ta-daaa! Hostfanatic is IN the house!**

**Wow, guys, it's been awhile. It has indeed been awhile. But I'm here now! **

**If the updates are a tad slow, it's just because I'm not EXACTLY sure how things are going to turn out, and writing takes a bit of time. But please, just keep in mind that I'm doing my best, and enjoy the story!**

**Okay. That's all.**

**Read and review, please!**

**Oh! Disclaimer: the amazingness that is The Host is not owned by me. It is owned by Stephenie Meyer. Celeste, Wes, and a few other characters that I created, however, DO belong to me. Thankyouverymuch. :)**

**Enjoy!**

_I hear voices. Everywhere, there are voices. I can't understand quite what they're saying; they all seem to be muted. There's a big thick crowd that is blocking my way, but it's surrounding something that I can't see._

_ I try as hard as I can to fight through them. That's when I look up and see who they are, see their eyes. They're humans, all of them. And not just any humans. The brutal ones, the monsters. The ones from the aggressive settlement._

_ I cringe back from them instinctively, but they don't seem to notice me. Their hate-filled glares are focused on the something that they're surrounding. The auburn-haired girl and her parents, the ones that stood up for us, are nowhere to be seen._

_ I can hear what they're saying now as I get closer and closer to the center._

_ "A menace!"_

_ "Disgusting, horrible monster."_

_ "Parasite."_

_ "It'll kill us all."_

_ "Can't let it live."_

_ My pushing is frantic now, shoving and elbowing people out of my way. I don't care who sees me. I'm getting a horrible, sickening premonition that something is going to go very, very wrong._

_ I break through the inner ring of people, and my jaw drops in horror._

_ Mom._

_ She's there, on the ground, on her knees, looking helpless with tears in her eyes. She's saying something, trying to plead her innocence, but none of us can hear her._

_ It doesn't matter. The humans have made up their minds._

_ "Don't!" I scream. "Please, don't!"_

_ I step forward as the humans advance, trying to protect my mother, but the ground suddenly gives way. Then I'm slipping and sliding down a clammy rock slope, and a fierce, horrible, rushing, thundering sound is filling my ears. I look over my shoulder and see that we're in an enormous version of the river room, including a larger version of the river._

_ It's rushing, boiling, scalding, and I'm slipping right toward it. But Freedom isn't here to save me this time._

_ I look up and see the humans and my mother up on the incline like we were. They're surging forward, surrounding her like a pack of wolves._

_ "STOP!" I cry, trying hard to halt my fall. "Please! She's not dangerous! She won't hurt you! Don't hurt her! Don't hurt my mother!"_

_ Alex advances. It's like in slow motion as the river—and Alex—inch closer and closer. He raises his gun…_

_ "No…NO…"_

_ I fall into the river._

"NO!"

I screamed, sitting bolt upright in bed.

In bed…

_I'm in bed, _I tried to remind myself. _It was just a bad dream…Mom's fine…you're fine._

Letting out a gusty sigh, I flopped backward onto the pillow.

"Sis? You all right?"

I leaned over the side of my cot and smile down at my brother. "Yeah, Wes," I sighed. "Just bad dreams."

His brow wrinkled in concern. "Again?"

I tried to reassure him. "I'm all right. Just a bit on edge."

He smiled up at me, and I grinned right back. Wes is definitely good-looking enough for me to have called him handsome if I wasn't his sister and if that wasn't just plain creepy. Wes is a bit…complicated.

Doc took scans of him when he was born and determined that his accelerated growth would stop when he was ten. Ten years old, not physically ten. He bypassed that mark a LONG time ago.

Anyway, when he reaches age twenty (physically about twenty-five or so) his aging process will halt until his years catch up to his physical body, and then he'll start aging like a completely normal person again. So basically, for the first ten years of his life, he grows too fast. Then for the next ten or so, he doesn't grow at all. And for the last sixty-something, he just acts normal.

My brother is very weird.

Doc and all the others have tried hard to explain this phenomenon, but they're still trying to figure it out. I say "Who cares?" Not because I don't love him, but things just happen because they happen, and I think that wasting time trying to figure stuff out is just stupid.

He's fourteen actual years old right now. He's physically eighteen.

Big brothers. Yaaaaaaaaay.

I love him to pieces, obviously, but with the physical and mental differences, he's pretty much my big brother, and sometimes I forget that it isn't the other way around. He is NOT my older brother, however. I never forget the fact that I am older than him by three years, nor do I ever let him forget it. Never.

Ever.

It has been thirteen peaceful years since The Incident, fourteen blessed years since my brother was born. Everything is fine now, and there isn't anything for ME to be worried about.

But that darned dream just comes up again and again, and it will not stop harassing me. I'm not sure that it ever will. I haven't come up with a great nightmare cure yet.

I lifted my head and looked around our little cave space. I was on my cot, Wes was beneath me on the mattress, and Mom and Dad were tangled up on their bed across the room. Making a face, I looked away.

Might as well leave and let them catch some more sleep, I thought. Pushing myself off the mattress, I headed for the entrance to the cave. _Maybe Freedom is awake already, and I'll have someone to talk to._

"Les?" Wes's hesitant voice comes from behind me. Les is my nickname, but he's the only one allowed to use it.

I turned to smile at him comfortingly from the doorway. "What's up, Squirt?" I asked him back, my special nickname for him—although it worked a lot better when he wasn't a foot taller than me and a good fifty pounds heavier. He got Dad's gene when it comes to size. I, sadly, got Mom's.

"Still the same dreams? About the humans and stuff?"

I sighed. "You are human, Wes," I said quietly. We've had the discussion before. He'd been having some "identity" issues on whether or not he's soul or human, because, well, he's kind of both. But he has to get over it. I've had some anxiety on the subject, too, and I turned out just fine. Granted, he's a lot more of a mix than I am, but still.

"That's not what I was hinting toward," he said impatiently in reference to the human thing. "I was just wondering what your theories were."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Theories?"

He rolled his eyes back at me. "Come on, Les. I know that you've got theories. You always do. That was thirteen years ago…" Not that he doesn't remember. He has a photographic memory, and he's remembered every insignificant (and significant) detail of his life from the moment he came out of Mom. Maybe it's a soul thing. "…so why are you still having nightmares about it now?"

I attempted a comforting smile, but it probably turned out more sarcastic than maternal. "Well, thirteen years ago, they let Mom live, and thirteen years later, I'm plagued with horrible nightmares." I shrugged wearily. "Maybe this was the compromise."

I turned and left the cave, shaking the remnants of the nightmare out of my mind. Today is going to be a good day. I can already feel it. I won't let some stupid dreams get in the way of that.

**So? How did you like the first chapter?**

**It's a bit short, I know. It's more like a prologue than a chapter, really.**

**Anyway, review, please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys!**

**I'm really sorry it took me so long to update. I haven't quite planned this story out. I know what's going to happen, but I don't know _how _it's going to happen yet, know what I mean?**

**Anyway, my updates might take a bit longer this time around, but I hope that you enjoy my story anyway. Thank you for all the awesome reviews that you gave me! I appreciated every single one of them. You all have really high hopes for this story, and I am so excited!**

**Enjoy chapter two!**

The early morning sunlight filtered down through the mirrors, casting otherworldly patterns on the cavern below. I stepped into it, stretching and yawning. It was completely quiet, completely empty, completely deserted, because no one else was awake yet.

All that wide-open space, and no one but me to use it.

I grinned.

In an instant, I was off and running. Crouching down, I did three front handsprings in a row and stuck the landing, my arms in the air.

I giggled.

Then I did a _back _handspring, coming out of it hard, spun around, and did a cartwheel.

Big finish…

I turned yet again, got a running start, did a double flip in midair, landed on the ground, did a somersault, and then popped back up again, laughing giddily.

"Celeste!"

I guiltily whirled around, hoping that no one had seen my endeavors. Grandpa Jeb didn't like me doing my gymnastics in the fields, because he was afraid I would trample his plants.

But, to my vast relief, Freedom stood in the doorway instead, and he was grinning at me so crazily that I felt my tension melt. I grinned back at him.

"You've been working on those, haven't you?" he asked me, raising an eyebrow as he strode into the cavern.

I shrugged. "Not really," I said offhandedly. "You're just easy to impress." I winked at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Okay, sure. _That's _it."

Laughing, I flopped down next to him on the soft dirt. I knew I would be in for it later, but I didn't care. "So, what did you think?" I couldn't resist asking eagerly.

He grinned at me again, poking me in the side. "I already told you, didn't I? You're awesome. The best gymnast in the caves."

"I'm the _only _gymnast in the caves, you twit," I shot back, but he was laughing.

Rolling my eyes, I gave him a hard noogie and got to my feet.

"Hey, wait!" he exclaimed, still laughing.

"Goodbye, Freedom."

"If you leave, I'll tell them that you were practicing in here."

Blackmail.

I turned around slowly, my eyes shooting sparks. "You wouldn't dare."

He grinned evilly. "Try me."

Huffing, I sat down again. "You are _so _annoying."

"Wonder who I got that from?"

"Don't you give me that crap, Freedom. You were here first. You didn't _get_ anything from me. If anything, _you're _the bad influence."

He laughed again. Freedom was always so happy. And cocky. "Yes, I'm such a hoodlum, tainting your poor innocence with my devilish endeavors."

I rolled my eyes, flicking him in the side of his head. "Oh, shut up."

He cracked up yet again, nearly rolling on the floor with mirth. I chose to ignore him, leaning staunchly against a rather large pumpkin with my arms crossed and waiting for him to get over himself.

He finally quieted, sitting up again. "So, what are you doing up this early?" he asked at last.

I evaded his question. "I could ask the same of you."

He rolled his eyes. _"I _woke up from Isaiah's snoring. Seriously, our cave is going to be a cave-_in _one of these days if he doesn't knock it off." He punched my arm lightly. "But you didn't answer my question.

Stupid, meddling, nosy best friend. He always knew when I was trying to change the subject.

I sighed, but I didn't even need to tell him.

"It was the nightmares again, wasn't it?" he said softly.

"I—no," I muttered unconvincingly. I was too tired and too annoyed to bother lying properly.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Come on, Celeste. I thought we agreed never to lie to one another."

I stared at him. "We never agreed to that."

Freedom considered this for a moment, and then shrugged. "Oh, you're right. Well, it was worth a shot." He waggled his eyebrows. "You don't need to promise that, anyway. I can always tell when you're lying. I think Wes is the only other one who can."

I made a face. It was true. My brother always seemed to see right through me, and so did Freedom.

Voices drifted in softly from one of the side tunnels, a signal that the others were beginning to wake up, that the caves were coming back to life after another long night. I pushed myself quickly to my feet, smoothing out the indentation in the dirt that I had made. Freedom did the same thing.

I flicked my dark hair out of the way. It was so long that I nearly sat on it every time I tried to sit down. And it was so _thick! _Sometimes, I just wanted to hack it all off, but whenever I mentioned any such inklings, everyone protested so vehemently that I backed down. Besides, I really did love my hair.

"I'd better head out to go and help with breakfast," I sighed. "People will be coming into the dining room by now."

"And I should go start waking up my bear of a brother," he grumbled.

I raised an eyebrow. _"Start _waking him up?"

He rolled his eyes. "It's a forty-five-minute-long process," he told me.

I laughed. Freedom always knew how to make me laugh.

Bidding him goodbye, I made my way down the side tunnel that led to the breakfast room.

Other people were coming out of their caves and heading that way, too. Several people waved at me, including Miss Lily, who's always been like a second mother to me.

I heard giggles from down the hall, and I turned to see a tall brown-haired man emerge from one of the rooms. A tiny redhead was tucked under his arm, and she was laughing at something he'd said. He was laughing, too, as they stared into each others' eyes with a goofy expression on their faces.

I tried hard not to gag as I rolled my eyes and turned away. I would greet Uncle Ben and Aunt Sunny later. She was _Aunt _Sunny now, and to be honest, it fit a lot more than the previous _Miss. _I loved having a new aunt, especially one that was fashion-conscious—the others didn't seem to care at all what they wore, but Aunt Sunny, Aunt Petals and I all had a passion for fashion. We constantly met in one of the rooms together, giggling and planning out what outfits we would get on the next raid. It was easy for Aunt Sunny and Aunt Petals, because they were both souls. I had to wear sunglasses and be extra careful.

Aunt Sunny and Uncle Ben were happily married now. They had gotten married when I was five, two years after The Incident. I remember the wedding. I was the flower girl.

I passed another room. Aunt Melanie and Uncle Jared were just coming out of it, stretching and yawning. Uncle Jared had an amused look on his face as he half-supported, half-dragged Aunt Melanie down the corridor toward the breakfast room. Aunt Melanie is NOT a morning person.

I went by the next cave, and Uncle Jamie bounced out of it, looking eager and excited to be awake. He is definitely a morning person, even if his sister isn't.

"Hey, Celeste!" he crowed excitedly. He's twenty-nine, but half the time, he still acts like he's a little kid. I don't mind. He's lots of fun to be around.

"Hi, Uncle Jamie," I answered grinning at him. His excitement is just as infectious as it has always been.

"Are you heading out to get some breakfast?" he asked me, his eyes bright and sparkling.

"Well, going to help serve it," I corrected. "Then I'll probably have some."

He rolled his eyes. "You and your mother. You guys work too hard. Seriously."

I laughed and waved at him as I sped up, heading toward the breakfast table.

"Hey, Celeste! Have you seen your Aunt Petals?" he called after me.

I smirked at him. "Sorry, no," I called back, refraining from teasing him. They have been boyfriend and girlfriend for thirteen years now, and I think we're all waiting for him to just put a ring on it. Especially Aunt Petals. I can tell that she loves him, but I can also tell that she's getting a little exasperated at the lack of a response here.

I waved at all my friends. Grandpa Jeb grinned his familiar grin at me. Uncle Kyle and Aunt Jodi didn't even notice. They were too busy making gaga eyes at one another like they always do. Honestly. They've been together longer than almost anyone in the caves, but they still act like they're a new couple. Sometimes, it's sweet. Sometimes it's just sickening.

Smirking to myself, I entered the kitchen, where I was almost instantly embraced by Sharon. I hugged her back, smiling to myself. I am always the peacemaker, and I have been since I was born. It was my birth that made Sharon finally start to forgive and like my mother, despite what she was. They're good friends now.

See, Sharon has always wanted a baby. Wanda knew that. And when Sharon learned that Wanda was going to have a child, she grew really, really jealous.

Until I was born, and Wanda made Sharon my godmother.

Ever since then, Sharon and Wanda have been really great friends, and Sharon and I have shared a very special bond that I don't have with anyone else.

Aunt Melanie was really mad at first, because I think she wanted to be my godmother. But Wanda named me after her, and that appeased her. Then, when Wes was born, she made Aunt Melanie and Uncle Jared the godparents. They were both delighted.

"Hi, Sharon," I said warmly.

She greeted me happily, brushing her flaming hair out of her face, and then pulled me over to help begin stacking the rolls.

People began to file into the kitchen. Doc smiled and waved at Sharon, who blushed and waved back, grinning at him. Uncle Jamie with Petals, whom he must have found while walking. She was grinning up at him as he talked animatedly, her bright green almond-shaped eyes sparkling.

Grandpa Jeb entered in front of Aunt Melanie and Uncle Jared, his eyes twinkling as he looked at Aunt Melanie, who was still half-dead to the world as she collapsed on a chair and hoarsely instructed Jared to bring her some food, and she didn't care what it was as long as it wasn't that disgusting bean casserole they had served at dinner last night. I hid a smile and went back to making breakfast.

Uncle Ben and Aunt Sunny came in, both smiling at me and then each other. Wes entered, and Freedom was right behind him. I grinned at my best friend as he made a funny face at me, sticking his tongue out as if he was six again.

Laughing quietly, I turned my attention back to the door and saw Uncle Kyle and Aunt Jodi enter. Paige, Andy, Lily, Aaron, Brandt, Reid, Violetta, and Heidi. Everyone that I knew well.

Then a big dark-haired man entered, ducking under the low overhang in the doorway. He straightened up, and bright blue eyes twinkled at me.

I dropped my spatula and threw my apron off. "Daddy!" I squealed, brushing flour off my hands as I hurried over to him. I hugged him tightly around the waist, and he laughed. His strong, comforting arms wound around me, holding me close to him. I felt his heart beat, and I sighed unconsciously. I was always safe with Daddy.

"Good morning, sunshine," I heard him say, and I grinned at him, brushing my hair out of my way again. Stupid hair. Gorgeous hair. My hair and I share a love/hate relationship.

"Hi, Daddy," I sighed happily, stepping back and putting my apron on again. He followed me over to the counter, sitting in front of it while I stood behind, stacking rolls.

We both relaxed in comfortable silence for a little while before he spoke.

"So," he said at last, his tone slightly worried. "Wes tells me that you were up early this morning…"

I froze.

_Crap._

I shot a fierce death glare at my brother, who tried to look innocent and turned away. Wes got Mom's gene in that he cannot lie. At all. Whatsoever. Even with his face. It just gives everything away.

It would be laughable were it not for what he did. Why the crap did he tell Daddy? Now he's going to freak out, just like he always does.

"Uh, yeah," I said at last, giving Wes a look that clearly said _we'll talk about this later._

Looking nervous, he turned away and began an animated conversation with Doc.

"But I'm fine, Daddy," I added quickly as he began to look definitely worried now. "Seriously. It isn't a big deal."

"Were you having nightmares again?"

I began to say no, but he leveled me with a glance that instantly had me backing away from the lie. I probably COULD lie to Daddy, if I wanted to, and he wouldn't be able to know the way Freedom and Wes always do. But I don't lie to Daddy. I could. But I don't.

"All right, yes," I said at last. "But they're getting better. They aren't quite as scary. I know that nothing is going to hurt me." This is only half the truth. I do know that nothing will hurt me, but it isn't true that they're getting any better. Just less frequent.

"Anything I can do?" Always trying to help me. I smiled a little bit.

"Just keep being the best dad ever, and it'll definitely help," I told him, giving him a tight hug. He hugged me back.

I laid everything out for breakfast along with Miss Trudy and Sharon. Then we all took our aprons off and joined the line that had already formed.

When I had food, I sat down with all my friends and family. We laughed and joked with each other as we ate, talking about raids and soccer games and life in general.

My life in general was wonderful right now. No life was perfect, but it felt like nothing could go wrong.

Just then, I heard someone enter. I turned to see my mom enter.

Her clouds of golden hair surrounded her face, and she brushed them away. I stared at her, smiling slightly. My mom is really, really pretty, and I've always wished that I could look like her. But she insists that I'm beautiful, too.

Still. Her worried gray eyes, her little frowning lips, the creases in her AMAZING complexion…

Wait a minute.

That's when I noticed that she looked anxious and frightened, not happy like she should have been.

Daddy turned to see her at that instant, and he began to smile and say hi to her. When he took in her expression, though, his greeting died on his lips.

He pushed himself off of his chair and strode over to her. I silently followed, using my spying skills to hide behind a group of other people and eavesdrop.

"Wanda?" I heard Daddy say in a frightened tone. "What's wrong?"

**Ooh, cliffie! Already the action is starting. Reviews, please, tell me what you thought!**

**Again, sorry for the long update...**


	3. Chapter 3

** Hey, guys…Hostfanatic here.**

** Look, I don't want you to be mad at me, but I kind of have some bad news…**

** I know that you were all really excited for this sequel to happen, and I was, too. But I've got a bit of a confession to make.**

** When I was writing the first story, Having Only Hopes for Tomorrow, I had a good idea of how it would be, what would happen, and, most importantly, how it would end. But it turns out that I plunged into this sequel faster than I should have, and I began to write it before I was ready to just because I was trying to impress you guys. And now I can't hold up my end of it and update regularly, because I wasn't ready. And that wasn't fair to you readers, and I'm really sorry.**

** I always say that I never give up a story, and I don't. I am not giving up on this. But I am going to have to postpone it for a little bit.**

** Please, please, please don't be mad at me! I don't want to disappoint you, but this story isn't ready to be published yet. Not to mention that school is starting up again soon, and I don't have a lot of time on my hands.**

** So I won't update for awhile. But I PROMISE you that I WILL come back for this story. I'm not giving up. I'm just suspending it.**

** Thoughts? Please review. Even if you hate me now, let me know. And if anyone has ideas for this story and would like to see them written out, just let me know! I am open to suggestions.**

** Thank you guys for understanding. I am not giving up. I just have to postpone it for a bit.**

** Hostfanatic out…**


End file.
